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Sunday, December 3, 2017 (Queen Mine RV Park, Bisbee, AZ)

Well...it's December 3rd today which means that another year has gone by for me. Yes, it's my birthday! The day started off with a morning full of FaceTime and Skype calls from family. I even managed to do a load of laundry and Steve walked down to the mine tour to book us for the noon tour.

So just before 11:30 we were on our way down to Queen Mine Tours...BISBEE - a name to stir the interest of mining men everywhere - has been one of the greatest copper camps the world has ever known. In almost 100 years of continuous production before the Bisbee mines closed in 1975, the local mines produced metals valued at $6.1 billion (at 1975 price) one of the largest production valuations of all the mining districts in the world. This staggering amount of wealth came from the estimated production of 8,032,352,000 lbs of copper, 2,871,786 ounces of gold, 77,162,986 ounces of silver, 304,627,600 lbs of lead and 371,945,900 lbs of zinc!
They wanted us there a half hour before tour time but it only took a few minutes to check in so we wandered around the visitor center again waiting for the call to don our vests, helmets and lights.

And after a briefing from our tour guides, Jonah and Benny, we all went out to get on the train...

Today’s Queen Mine Tour takes visitors deep into the old workings of the famous Queen Mine where great tonnages of extremely rich copper ore was mined in the early days, catching the attention of the mining industry around the world as one of the greatest treasure troves of copper ever discovered. Taking the Queen Mine Tour is to step back through the pages of history. A melting pot of immigrant miners from the mining districts of Europe labored beneath the Mule Mountains to feed the insatiable demand for copper and electricity. The electrical age changed the World from a predominantly rural society to the industrial age, bringing with it the highest standard of living the world has ever known.

We'll be travelling 1500' into the mine. Bisbee mines, of which the Queen Mine is just one, include more than 2,500 miles of tunnels!

Timbers shoring up the mine tunnel...

There are 7 levels of tunnels each with 100' between them. Here we are walking up to third level...

See the miner above the ladder...

This area was like a huge cavern...

Copper showing from the rock...

I was a reluctant volunteer. Jonah asked me to hold the drill bit while he demonstrated hitting it with a 4 pound hammer...the way it was done before powered drills were used. Thankfully he didn't swing the hammer!

Here he's talking about how the power drills that were brought into use...

Yellow ventilation duct...

Each cart carried one ton of rock. Note the chutes above the carts...

Describing how the powered drills were moved about and used...

Describing how the dynamite was fused and stuffed into the drilled holes using the long pipe...

How would you like to cozy up to your co-worker to do your business?

Many volunteered to demonstrate and have their pictures taken...

Front end loader. The bucket in front would dump to the rear cart...

Shaft elevator...

Note the bicycle looking contraption between the carts...

Evacuation Route...

Time to head back...

Fun with the light!

That was a very interesting tour...I must admit that I wasn't that enthusiastic about going on it but I'm glad I did!

Now it was time to carry on to our next item on the agenda...The Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum...Phelps Dodge is a mining corporation that was established in 1834 in New York City, with trading largely occurring between the Deep South and England. As the nation expanded west, the corporation went from cotton trade to mineral trade. In the 1880s it moved to Phoenix Arizona where the headquarters still stand to this day. In 1882, Phelps purchased both mines operating in Bisbee, the Atlanta Copper Mine and the Queen Copper Mine. With these large mines under their care, Phelps opened this office building in 1896. The building and the Phelps corporation were active in Bisbee until 1961 when the supply of copper in the mines became dry. The building is now home to the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. This museum was the first in the Southwest to join the Smithsonian's Affiliation Program, making it also the smallest museum in the program.

This sign was outside the museum. Too funny!

In 1912, Bisbee sanitation was crude and infectious diseases were common. The mining camp suffered frequent epidemics of typhoid and other diseases spread from outhouses, stables and cesspools by the common housefly.

That year, the Commercial Club of Bisbee decided on a civic improvement campaign to eradicate flies, sponsoring a contest and offering cash prizes to the person who killed the most flies. It was a project made to order for Bisbee’s kids. The Bisbee Daily Review described the campaign: “…the local fly swatting is at the germbearing insect that carries dread typhoid and other nasty disease from filthy refuse into one’s food. [It] is the death messenger, the common house fly.”

The contest rules were simple: kill, capture or poison flies, put them in a container and turn them in to a local drug store. Officials there counted and tallied the flies for each contestant.

Once inside, we paid our entrance fee...$7/each, the senior's rate... :-) and were given a brief overview and layout of the two floors

Cool!

Up to the second floor....Bisbee’s Mineral Heritage is a state-of-the-art mining exhibit beautifully crafted by Smithsonian designers. You'll enter through a changehouse before winding through an underground mine rich with minerals, a crystal cave, and the history of hard-rock miners who blasted, drilled, and mucked more than 2,000 miles of tunnels through the surrounding mountains. As past meets present, you then segue into today's world of open-pit mining, where new technologies address challenges posed by a high-demand marketplace and low-grade ore.

Dr. James Douglas, a metallurgist and mining engineer, was instrumental in the development of the great ore body at Bisbee, Arizona, The Copper Queen--the mine that lifted the Phelps Dodge Copper Corporation to the pinnacle of success.

Early in his career, Douglas helped develop an ingenious process for the extraction of copper from the ores. Because of his reputation as a refiner of Arizona coppers, Dr. Douglas was sought out by the Phelps Dodge Corporation of New York. The company was contemplating investing in Arizona copper mining and needed a reliable consultant. Douglas's enthusiastic recommendation of the mineralized area around Bisbee's Copper Queen property led to its acquisition and he spent the next 20 years of his life devoting his energies to making the Copper Queen one of the great producers of its time--second only to Anaconda's mighty Butte. The great success of the Bisbee mine earned Dr. Douglas the respect of his fellow engineers and made him the wealthy president of the Phelps Dodge Corporation.
By the way, Dr. James Douglas was a Canadian!

Core samples...

Heavy equipment operator...

Samples of everyday items that use copper...

This is the original Boardroom of the Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation...

How would you like to have received your high school diploma made out of copper?!

In a room off the Boardroom there is also a research library...the Shattuck Memorial Research Library offers a unique selection of books, files, oral histories, and microfilm archives to the public. The Library focuses on Bisbee and western history, particularly as the history of the West impacted Bisbee’s development from the late 19th through mid-21st centuries. Primary collections include mining history, Bisbee history, geology, and mineralogy. Wow...amazing!

And that concludes our history lesson today....a mine tour and a museum tour! Now we were all educated about the history of the area, it was time to get onto matters of a more "celebratory" theme! All that touring can make one very thirsty!

Along with Bisbee's cosmopolitan character, the colorful, rough edges of the mining camp could still be found in the notorious Brewery Gulch, with its saloons and brothels. In its heyday, the Gulch boasted nearly 50 saloons and was considered the one of the liveliest spots in the west. Historic taverns still retain the rich character and boom-town flavor of this period.

It is really just a small tap room where you order your beer and take it to a table.

We chose to sit outside on the patio...each starting with their Classic Pilsner...

Then we decided to try a sample of each beer on tap...

A great way to taste all the various flavours! Some were good...others not so much. Our favourite turned out to be Copper City Ale.

That was fun...time to move on!
Steve snapped a couple of more pictures along the way. A beautiful courtyard...

Simonis Gallery sign on a bomb...

Our next stop was at the Copper Queen Hotel, Restaurant and Bar....Soon after Bisbee was founded as a copper, gold and silver mining town in 1880, Phelps Dodge Mining Company built the Copper Queen Hotel as a place for dignitaries and investors to relax in luxury. Completed 1902, the hotel was designed in the classical Italiante style by Van Bleck and Goldsmith of New York. The interiors were richly furnished and still showcase many of original features such as expensive hardwoods and California Redwood trim, hand-carved wooden pillars, imported Italian marble blanketing the main lobby areas and one-of-a-kind Tiffany fixtures.

We went to the bar and found a table outside on the terrace. Steve was deep in conversation with a local fellow when I snapped this picture....

After a most enjoyable time there...and a couple of drinks (I was even given one free in celebration of my birthday!), it was time for dinner. Deciding that the restaurant in the hotel looked a little too "hoity-toity" for us, we chose Bisbee's Table...besides, we had taken a look at it earlier in the day and I had decided that was where I wanted to go!

We loved the atmosphere here!

And of course, after a delicious dinner...I was treated to a birthday dessert (and seems like every server and patron sang!). Not only was it absolutely yummy, it was huge...more than enough for the both of us!

Well...what can I say? What a fabulous birthday! I also received tons of birthday wishes from friends and family on FaceBook...for which I am so grateful. I felt the love today...thanks so much!

14 comments:

We found the mine tour facinating when we took it. There was one person who had to leave when they became claustophobic. The brewery and dinner was a great way to end the day, it looks like it was a great birthday!

We've been to Bisbee a couple time, without tour reservations we did not get to go. Maybe this year on our way though the area in January. Thanks for pointers here and at the wildlife area in the previous post.

I am claustrophobic as well and was a little concerned but you each have a light and there are no super tight, close areas so I was fine. Doesn't mean that I didn't "have a word with myself" as we entered the tunnel, though! :-)

Banff

About Us

We married in 1982 and our sons, Rob and Chris were born in 1983 and 1985. In 1990 we built our dream home in North Saanich just north of Victoria BC on 1.21 acres. We both had long careers, Dianne in Human Resources and Steve as Branch Manager for a controls systems wholesaler.
Steve always felt that there were no guarantees in life as far as health and mortality went, so we planned to retire early and RV full-time.
In late 2009 we began the build process on our custom Toy Hauler truck, taking delivery in early 2010. We moved into our new Montana 5th wheel in Feb 2010, living in it for 4 months while still working. In May 2010 we purchased 2 Yamaha Grizzly 550 ATVs. We're ready!
Just shy of our 55th birthdays, on June 25, 2010 we retired and started our life as gypsies.
We prefer dry camping (boondocking), getting as far away from civilization as possible. However, our size limits us from getting into all of those remote areas. Good thing we have the ATVs to explore with.